Israeli-based performance marketing developer XLMedia has acquired mobile performance marketing platform ClicksMob in a cash deal worth $5.1 million.
The agreement gives XLMedia’s mobile marketing division Dau-Up ClicksMob’s performance-based app user acquisition technology, but much of the draw is down to the acquired firm’s strong foothold in Asia, where the region is attributed to have accounted for 30% of total $16.3 million (unaudited) profit last year.
As part of the deal, Dau-Up also acquires ClicksMob’s technologies, which include audience matching, engine optimisation and fraud fighting tools.
Meanwhile, tying ClicksMob’s core user acquisition product – used by leading apps across gaming, e-commerce, travel, entertainment and finance – with Dau-Up’s existing expertise within games and social marketing, XLMedia will be able to deliver services to a much wider range of customers in different verticals.
“We are excited to announce the acquisition of ClicksMob, which combined with our own mobile marketing capabilities provides a significant future growth engine for the Group across key verticals,” said chief executive officer of XLMedia, Ory Weihs.
Asia proposition
According to eMarketer, the APAC region is expected to overtake North America as the world’s largest digital ad market within the next year – garnering a total projected spend of $83 billion – with the bulk of this growth driven by mobile.
The opportunity to ride this wave has seen the APAC market become a top destination for countless digital advertising companies’ 2017 expansion plans. Within performance marketing, November saw affiliate solutions group Impact Radius launch in Sydney, while the end of last month performance advertising network Optimise opened a new office in Jakarta.
However, a significant challenge awaits those looking to capitalise on a mobile advertising boom, with PageFair’s 2017 ad blocking report finding that an entire 94% of mobile ad blocking worldwide occurs in the Asia-Pacific region.